Pak’s Faisalabad Wolves check-in at C’garh hotel

In a day before they begin their Champions League Twenty20 campaign, a relieved Faisalabad Wolves team finally checked-in at a city hotel in Chandigarh, from where they were asked to move to Mohali due to visa issues.

The Pakistan domestic champions had to spend last night at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium’s clubhouse in Mohali as initially they were issued visa for only this Punjab town. The team had a practice session at the PCA stadium and after getting clearance they left for the hotel in Chandigarh, a Union Territory, which is a common capital of both Punjab and Haryana.

“The team has been given visas for Chandigarh, meaning that they can now stay at the hotel and are free to travel within Chandigarh, where three other teams are putting up,” PCA Joint Secretary, G S Walia said.

“The BCCI immediately took up the matter with Ministry of Home Affairs to rectify and added Chandigarh on the visa list. Yesterday being Sunday the action could be initiated late in the evening and Ministry of Home Affairs has taken appropriate decision and has done the needful. The Faisalabad Wolves have shifted to their designated hotel,” Walia said.

CL T20 starts, Wolves take on Otago Volts

MOHALI: till trying to find its foothold in the cricketing landscape, the Champions League Twenty20 will enter its fourth season here tomorrow with the qualifying matches during which Pakistan’s domestic champions Faisalabad Wolves are likely to hog the limelight.

The event will kick off with Faisalabad Wolves, led by Pakistan’s Terst skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, taking on New Zealand’s Otago Volts in the first qualifier. This would be followed by a star-studded Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by Delhi-dasher Shikhar Dhawan, squaring off against Sri Lanka’s Kandurata Maroons in the second qualifier at the PCA stadium.

Barring Volts, the other three teams in the Qualifiers come from the sub-continent, but none among the four feels that either has any big advantage in the event. The top two teams will advance to the main draw, which has three Indian teams in fray -- IPL champions Mumbai Indians, runners-up Chennai Super Kings and third-place finishers Rajasthan Royals.